Very Naughty Dogs on Thursday!

Does everyone remember this scene from a few weeks ago?

You can all be assured that Cooper was appropriately punished after this act of vandalism. He was talked to in a very firm manor. Well, maybe "firm" isn't the correct term. Truth be told, it wasn't really a "talking to" either. I just asked him how he would feel if I chewed up one of his things, and then gave him kisses and hugs and scratches behind the ears. He promised that nothing like this would happen ever again.

I neglected to ask him what his definition of the term "ever again" is. Turns out, "ever again" is just a period of a couple of weeks. Look at his handiwork from this week:

Such a naughty little boy! Of course I scolded him right away. Either that, or I ran to get the camera so I could get a shot of the destruction for this week's Dogs on Thursday.

Before you judge me, just take a look at this sweet little face....

...and tell me you could scold him! My father has always said it's a good thing I never had kids...they would never be disciplined, and they'd be the brattiest kids on the block!

I have this afternoon off work to get a couple of things done, so instead of blogging I really should be getting stuff done. Ordinary stuff like laundry and going to the dump and taking pictures of finished socks and baby sweaters and, oh, yeah, getting my new car registration so I'll be driving legally again. Yup, I've been breaking the law. Ooops. In my defense, I've had to spend a LOT of time lately disciplining Cooper... No, I guess that excuse isn't going to work, is it?

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Yesterday my sister and I went to the Garden State Sheep Breeders Festival in Ringoes, NJ. It's nothing like the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, but it was a very nice little event. The weather was nice, and the sheep were friendly. While we didn't exactly see lions and tigers and bears (oh, my!), we did see lots of other critters who graciously let us humans take their extra "fluff" and spin it into yarn.

Just look at the mug on this Baby Face sheep. So cute!


While Jakob Sheep don't fall into the "cute" category, they do have some impressive horns!
Oh, and the alpacas - don't get me started on the alpacas. If I won the lottery, I would buy a farm just so I could have a herd of these cuties!

While I wouldn't need a farm for a "herd" of bunnies, I would need a dog-free home. Emma just hates bunnies with a white-hot passion. I'm afraid she would look past the funny face (and expensive price tag) on this little bunny and just consider him a "snack"!

Seriously, though, isn't he the sweetest thing? Those ears just kill me! He let me touch him, and he was soooo soft. It was like touching a cloud.

Emma says "Mmmmm, cotton candy!"

Hey - that guy looks familiar...

I'll bet you're thinking this guy...

is really this guy, but he isn't - it's his brother. Yes, this is one of the other Taylor siblings - Livingston Taylor! Uncanny, isn't it? I've seen Livingston Taylor several times over the years, and have enjoyed his style, his singing, his humor, each and every time. He was at a local arts organization last night, and the show was great. If you get a chance to see him, do it!

P.S. Sorry for the fuzzy picture - I didn't want to blind him with my flash, and this is the best shot of the hundred or so several that I took.

Tara on Thursday

Since this is the first Dogs on Thursday in October, and October is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month....

...today's DOT post is all about Tara! Just look how excited she is!

Maybe she doesn't look all that excited, but she is, trust me. She just hides it well.

Tara came to BritKnitterville on St. Patrick's Day in 2005. I had back surgery in January of that year, and while I was at home recuperating, I found Tara at the American Brittany Rescue website. She was found wandering the streets in a small town in Arkansas, and some kind soul took her to a local shelter. The folks at the shelter contacted American Brittany Rescue, and an ABR foster mom took Tara into her home to love her, care for her, get her healthy, and then place her in a forever home. (I have the greatest respect for foster moms and dads--I just know I would never be able to part with any dog that I fostered.)

Anyway, I contact ABR here in New Jersey, and they sent one of their volunteers out to do a site visit. We passed the test with flying colors, except for one area - the dreaded DISCIPLINE. On the paperwork, that area was under the "needs improvement" category, and the comment they wrote was "Lovingly applied, not enforced." I think that was a very tactful way of saying that Emma was acting like a hooligan. She was, I admit it. There was nothing I could do to keep her from jumping on the sofa and licking the reviewer's face. Oh, well. I'm OK with that.

Anyway, after several calls back and forth to Arkansas, Judy (Tara's foster mom) graciously allowed me to become Tara's forever mom. I was so nervous the day we picked her up from the Brittany Transport. Dad drove my sister and I about an hour north to the pick-up spot, and when we saw them carrying Tara over to us, all I could think was "that's not a brittany!" She was so tiny and skinny, and had the biggest eyes you ever saw. This picture was taken shortly after she arrived.

She would just stare at the toys and bones and balls, wondering what to do with them. How pathetic is that? She got used to the creature comforts pretty quickly, though.

She claimed the ottoman as her very own doggie bed...
...and sometimes even snuggles int0 the chair.

She has figured out what bones are for...


...and knows how to eat off of a fork...

...and even helps with the dishes.

She is a fashion-conscious girl...

...and likes wearing things her mommy knits for her.


Tara says, "Just look at me now!"
I often wonder if she remembers her time "on the streets". I hope not. I hope her memory starts with that St. Patrick's Day when she curled up on the back seat of the car next to her new mommy, and fell asleep on the long car ride to BritKnitterville.

Mooo-oooooo!

Ahhhh, a weekend off. Two full days...in a row! It was looking as though I was going to have to work yesterday, but fortunately someone stepped in, and I was off the hook. It's a good thing, too, since we were running dangerously low on dog food. I spent the day yesterday preparing the ingredients (cooking veggies, crock pot full of beans, measuring & bagging dry ingredients) and today made two big pots of rice, and mixed everything up and baked 12 meatloaves. The dogs say "Yummy"!

This afternoon, we went to visit our vet at his farm. He has a new addition to his farm-- a baby cow! Yep, a cow!

This little baby is "Blue". Isn't he cute?He's actually 4 1/2 months old now, so I guess he's not a baby any more. He's also a boy, so I guess he's technically not a "cow" either. Who cares what he's called - he's a cutie pie!

Long-time readers of the BritKnitter blog might remember this momma with her sweet little lamb from last April:

Well... Awww, they grow so fast!

Special (Creepy) Guest for Dogs on Thursday

For this week's Dogs on Thursday post, I give you this creepy critter:

That thing is the biggest walking stick I have ever seen! Throughout the summer, lots of little ones make an appearance, but they're usually about two inches long. This guy has to be, I don't know, maybe 8 inches? Could be more. (By the way, the quarter is taped to the siding for size comparison. I normally do not have quarters taped to the side of the garage.)

Tonight I was scrolling through previous posts, and I realized that I've been a bad blogger this month. I have barely managed to get Dogs on Thursday posts done and posted, let alone anything else during the week. My only excuse is that I've been working weekends this past month, and my whole routine is out of whack. I was going to upload some pics from the camera and post some knitting projects, but who can resist this sweet face?
Yup, that's Tara with her favorite toy, her squeeky bar bell. How can I sit at the computer when she is giving me that hopeful look? I've got to log off now and go play "Mommy's Gonna Get That Skeeky Toy" with my little Tattie McTata Dog.

Shelter Dogs on Thursday (and cats, too!)

I first heard about The Animal Rescue Site a couple of years ago, and for a while I went there faithfully every day, but then got lazy, and have only been doing it maybe once a week or so. Shame on me.

For anyone who hasn't heard of the site, you can go there and click on a button, and that provides food for a shelter dog or cat. That's it - just click and you're done. You don't have to register, or give them any information at all. Just click, and you get the warm fuzzy feeling inside that you are helping a little soul in need. Plus, while you're at the site, you can shop for some great pet gifty-items and with each purchase, you feed even more animals in need!

The other day my sister forwarded an email to me about the site. It seems they are having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising.

Needless to say, I will be going to http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/ and clicking on the purple box 'fund food for animals' every day, without fail! It takes less than a minute, and means to much to hungry dogs and cats. Go ahead and try it, and I guarantee you'll get a warm fuzzy feeling, too!

Naughty Dogs on Thursday

Today's Dogs on Thursday post is brought to you by Cooper.







What, no pictures of Cooper? Nope. I will, however, show a picture of his handiwork:


There, in Cooper's favorite chair, is what remains of my sister's fishing magazine. Astute readers may remember this post from last month which shows Cooper lounging in "his" chair. In that post, I talk about how much Cooper loves his chair, and mentioned that:

"He loves grabbing ahold of the loose cushions and shaking them like a shark. I know I should discourage this behaviour, but he enjoys himself so much, I just can't tell him 'no'. "

I should have listened to the wonderfully wise Sonya, when she commented:

"Now don't get mad at him if he takes the shark impression a little too far."

Oh, well... Would'a, should'a, could'a, right? At least it wasn't a knitting magazine! Whew!

Last but not least, the multi-talented, awesome dog-mom Nichole presented me with this award!
Thanks, Nichole! If anyone made it to the end of this post, I would like to pass this award along to you. Hey, if you're reading this blog, you've gotta love dogs!

Mr. Bones

For this week's Dogs on Thursday post, our special guest is Mr. Bones.

My niece brought this little man to my attention, and asked me to spread the word about him on the blog. Bones has been living at Best Friends Animal Society in Utah for many, many years. Something like 13 years. Best Friends is a wonderful place - that's where National Geographic's "Dogtown" series is filmed, but still, that's a long time, especially in dog years.

Anyway, Bones has been adopted by someone living on the East Coast, but due to health issues, Bones is unable to fly. They are raising funds to get him transported across the country to his loving forever home. You can read all about him at http://www.firstgiving.com/milesformrbones

Good luck and Dog-Speed to you, Mr. Bones-y McBones.

Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day is a day off for most people in the United States. Not me. Nope. I was working. One of the "joys" of working at a non-profit. Oh, well. We all had a very nice day yesterday, so that kind of makes up for having to work today.

Pitchfork Boy and his family came down and we all went to Fortescue for fishing and fun. It was a wonderful day. If I had it to do all over again, there isn't a single thing I would change about that day. The weather was perfect, the kids were fabulous, the fish were biting, what more could you ask for in a summer day?

Here is daddy Luis fishing while Zach and Danny are playing in the water.

Zach (aka Pitchfork Boy) was the official "Releaser of the Fishes."

In between "releases", he also did quite a bit of exploring. Here he is with one of his finds - a horseshoe crab.

Here is little brother Danny doing his "babuskha woman" impersonation.

And here is mommy Kris and little Lexi playing in the water.


Beautiful day!

P.S. No fish were harmed in the making of this blog post.